Caloosahatchee and Okeechobee Conditions Report

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Updated: 2023-08-22 06:59:00 EDT

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Purpose

This webpage/report is intended to aggregate information from different agencies (i.e. USACE, SFWMD, FWC, USGS and NOAA) into one spot to help inform local government agencies and stakeholders on conditions within Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary and Coastal southwest Florida. The data provided here should be considered preliminary and are subject to change.

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USACE Data Summary

Daily discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 14-days. Data Source: USACE
Date	S77	S78	S79	S310	S351	S352	S354	L8	S308	S80	NthLake 1	WCA1	WCA2	WCA3	ENP 2
08-21	0	2085	4971	-326	0	0	0	-2	0		5829	2148	2354	2465	2,977.190
08-20	0	2110	5145	-363	0	0	0	2	710	23	6895	1829	2162	1930
08-19	0	1540	5214	-256	0	0	0	4	0		6135	2132	2221	2376
08-18	0	814	3666	31	0	0	0	-10	0	70	4110	2303	3096	2477	3,445.289
08-17	0	1174	2352	53	0	0	0	-24	0	31	3622	1989	2190	1950	3,484.959
08-16	0	1193	3118	-87	0	0	0	-10	0	12	5141	1991	1775	1926
08-15	0	992	1887	-100	0	0	0	-12	282	31	4364	2521	1922	1847
08-14	0	980	2915	52	0	0	0	-26	0	35	4399	2648	1388	1755	3,498.843
08-13	762	2114	4078	35	0	0	0	-10	0	19	4834	2817	1547	1736
08-12	726	2624	5694	-105	0	0	0	-0	0	19	4649	2479	1872	1781	3,756.694
08-11	1067	2491	5350	-103	0	0	0	-0	0	35	5441	2473	1956	1868
08-10	1265	2011	5716	-61	0	0	0	-24	0	35	7234	2497	2247	2029
08-09	1529	2252	4738	18	0	0	0	-4	0	27	7442	2817	2608	1853
1 Includes discharges from Fisheating Creek, S71, S72, S84, S84X, S65E, and S65EX1
2 Estimated as S12s+(S333+S333N)-S356. If no data is present (i.e. -NR-) either S12s, S333s or S356 data is not available.

Download Discharge as .xlsx

Average and total net discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 7-days. Data Source: USACE
Statistic	S77	S78	S79	S310	S351	S352	S354	L8	S308	S80	NthLake	WCA1	WCA2	WCA3	ENP
Average	0	1415	3765	-150	0	0	0	-7	142	33	5156	2131	2246	2139	3,302.479
Total	0	9908	26353	-1048	0	0	0	-52	992	167	36095	14914	15721	14971	9,907.438

Average and total net discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 14-days. Data Source: USACE
Statistic	S77	S78	S79	S310	S351	S352	S354	L8	S308	S80	NthLake	WCA1	WCA2	WCA3	ENP
Average	411	1722	4219	-93	0	0	0	-9	76	31	5392	2357	2103	1999	3,432.595
Total	5349	22380	54844	-1212	0	0	0	-115	992	337	70094	30645	27340	25993	17,162.976

Caloosahatchee Conditions Summary: Flow to the Caloosahatchee Estuary had a 7-day average of 1,898 cfs at S-79 with a 7-day average of 0 cfs (0%) coming from the lake at S-77. The 14-day moving average flow at S-79 is 2,201 cfs and has been in the stress flow envelope (2100 - 2600 cfs; RECOVER 2020) for 5 days.

Lake Flows: In the past 7 days the total outflow from Lake Okeechobee was 1,082 AF with 0 AF to the Caloosahatchee through S-77,992 AF through S-308 in Port Mayaca, 84 AF through S-310 in Clewiston, and 0 AF to the EAA through S-351, S-352, and S-354. The total net inflow to the Lake was 37,285 AF (36,095 AF from Fisheating Creek, S-71, S-72, S-84s, S-65EX, and S-65EX1) with a total backflow volume of 1,190 AF from S310 and C10A. Water conservation areas received flows of 14,914 AF, 15,721 AF, and 14,971 AF at WCA1, WCA2, and WCA3, respectively. Everglades National Park received 9,907 AF.

Lake Okeechobee Level: 15.36 ft (Operational Management Band)

Lake Okeechobee Inflow: 3213 cfs

Last Week: 15.33 ft

Lake Okeechobee Outflow: 358 cfs

Weekly Rainfall Total:

WP Franklin ≥ 1.62”

Ortona ≥ 2.24”

Moore Haven ≥ 0.58”

Download Rainfall as .xlsx ACOE Daily Report 7-day Mean Discharge (cfs)

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Lake Okeechobee

Stage Elevation

Lake Okeechobee daily average stage elevation for water year 2024 (WY2024) relative to the last two water years (red line) relative to the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS) .

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Stage and recession rates this time for the current and last three water years
Date (Month-Day)	Water Year	Stage (ft, NGVD29)	7-Day Recession Rate (ft 7-d⁻¹)	30-Day Recession Rate (ft 30-d⁻¹) B
08-21	2021	14.05	0.24	1.24
08-21	2022	14.45	0.17	0.96
08-21	2023	12.67	-0.12	-0.37
08-21	2024	15.36 A	0.03	0.38
A Value estimated from average stage height across L001, L005, L006, LZ40, S133TW, S352HW & S4TW
B -0.5 ft 30-d⁻¹ maximum 30-day Recession Rate for HAB Deviation

• As of 08/21/2023 the mean stage elevation in Lake Okeechobee is within the Operational Low Sub- Management Band at a stage elevation of 15.36 feet (NGVD29).

Lake Okeechobee 7-day and 30-day water level recession/ascension rates during WY2024. Negative values indicate falling water levels (recession) and positive values indicate raising water level (ascension) during this 7-day period .

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Lake Okeechobee 7-day water level recession/ascension rates stop-light metric relative to the draft Snail Kite Performance Measure.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

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Regional Rainfall

Weekly (08/15 - 08/21) rainfall totals along the Caloosahatchee River
Mointoring Location 1	Weekly Rainfall Total (inches) 2
S79 (WP Franklin)	1.6
S78 (Ortona)	2.8
S77 (Moore Haven)	0.6
1 Data Source: SFWMD DBHYDRO (DBKEYS 16414,15495,16415) and USACE reports
2 Based on data from 08/15/2023 - 08/21/2023

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Relative Algae Condition

Sonde monitoring locations within Lake Okeechobee conducted by SFWMD.

Daily Chlorophyll, Phycocyanin,relative ratio of Phycocyanin (Phyco) relative to Phyco and Chlorophyll (Chl) and Turbidity within Lake Okeechobee monitored by SFWMD. Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin are plotted on log-scale. Thresholds of concern/risk identified for Chlorophyll (20 and 40 μg/L) and Phycocyanin (40 μg/L; Cotterill et al 2019 & Macário et al 2015).

Data are provisional and subject to change.

• Cotterill et al (2019) Phycocyanin sensors as an early warning system for cyanobacteria blooms concentrations: a case study in the Rotorua lakes. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 53:555–570.
• Macário et al (2015) New insights towards the establishment of phycocyanin concentration thresholds considering species-specific variability of bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Hydrobiologia 757:155–165.

Weekly mean water quality sonde Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin concentration at monitoring locations across Lake Okeechobee
Site	7-day Mean Chlorophyll Conc. (μg L⁻¹) 1	7-day Mean Phycocyanin Conc. (μg L⁻¹) 1	Green Algal Concern Category 2	Blue-green Algae Concern Category 3
L001	12	111	Min. Concern	High Concern
L005	19	47	Min. Concern	High Concern
L006	76	5	High Concern	Min. Concern
LZ40
POLESOUT1	28	22	Warning	Min. Concern
POLESOUT3	0	3	Min. Concern	Min. Concern
1 Based on data from 08/16/2023 - 08/22/2023
2 Chlorophyll Categories: Min. Concern: values < 20 μg L⁻¹ Warning: values ≥ 20μg L⁻¹ and <40 μg L⁻¹ High Concern: values ≥ 40 μg L⁻¹
3 Phycocyanin Categories: Min. Concern: values < 40 μg L⁻¹ High Concern: values ≥ 40 μg L⁻¹

Algae Coverage

Cyanobacteria Algal Index across Lake Okeechobee. Percent area based on open water coverage (Lake Area minus Littoral Zone). Data from NOAA NCCOS HAB data explorer. Data are provisional and subject to change.

Daily cloud cover and cyanobacteria algal bloom coverage of Lake Okeechobee. Percent area based on open water coverage (Lake Area minus Littoral Zone). Data from NOAA NCCOS HAB data explorer.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Blue-Green Algae Sampling Results

Blue-green Algae sampling results for the last 14-days for the 10 county area (Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe). Data from FDEP Blue-green algae dashboard

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Of the 76 samples collected, cyanobacteria was dominate in 64 samples, 58 samples had toxins present ranging from 0.25 to 37 μg L⁻¹ (does not include non-detects).

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Caloosahatchee River Estuary

Discharge

Fort Myers Yacht Basin salinity (SCCF-RECON) and S79 discharge (SFWMD) data for the last six months.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Fort Myers Yacht Basin salinity (SCCF-RECON) and S79 discharge (SFWMD) data for the last last 30 days.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

S-77 (from Lake Okeechobee) and S-79 (to Tidal Basin) flow data along the C-43 and Caloosahatchee River. C-43 Basin Flow was calculated as the difference from S-77 and S-79.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Daily, 14-day moving average and 30-day moving average discharge for S-79 relative to the Northern Estuaries RECOVER performance measure and the established minimium flows and levels (MFLs) for the recent 6-month period.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Daily, 14-day moving average and 30-day moving average discharge for S-79 relative to the Northern Estuaries RECOVER performance measure and the established minimium flows and levels (MFLs) for the recent 30-day period.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

• As of Aug 21, discharges conditions are within the stress RECOVER salinity envelope.

Cumulative discharge for S-79 (to Tidal Basin) and S-77 (from Lake Okeechobee) for the last three Florida Water Years (May - April). Day of water year is analogous to day of year with Day 1 = May 1^st.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Estuary Salinity

Daily average bottom salinity data for the last 14-days from sampling locations within the tidal Caloosahatchee River Estuary relative to oyster health (Sanibel, Shell Point and Cape Coral) and tape grass (Vallisneria americana) health (Ft. Myers only) conditions.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red Tide Abundance

Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program.Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Chlorophyll fluorescence for coastal southwest Florida for 2023-08-21 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)

Red Tide Forecast

Red Tide Prediction and Tracking for coastal Southwest Florida from FWC and USF link.

Upper and lower water column HAB (Red Tide) forecasted trajectories from Ocean Circulation Group at USF.

Statewide Gulf of Mexico coastal Red Tide forecast from FWC and USF.

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Charlotte Harbor

Discharge

Daily discharge into Charlotte Harbor from major rivers and creeks. Data source: USGS. Grey dashed lines between points indicate a potential data gap with values linearly interpolated.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

 

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